What’s The Best Treatment For Hirsutism?

Hirsutism is a medical condition that is mostly related to male pattern hair growth in women. From hormonal changes to genes, there could be different hirsutism causes and triggers. Since conditions like Hypertrichosis and Hirsutism can affect a patient psychologically, it is recommended to get a dedicated treatment. In order to understand the comprehensive and customized consultations and treatments related to Hirsutism, it is important to identify its symptoms and what could have caused it in the first place.

What Is Hirsutism?

Hirsutism is a common medical condition that affects almost 5 to 10% of women. In this, a thick hair growth is seen on the body which resembles the male-pattern hair distribution. This includes an evident hair growth on the face, back, chest, and other unwanted places.

While conditions like Hypertrichosis and Hirsutism doesn’t have a direct medical implication, they should be treated nevertheless. This is because unwanted male pattern hair growth in females can tamper with their confidence and their overall psychology. The elevated level of androgen is considered as one of the major Hirsutism causes. After a thorough diagnosis, your doctor can recommend an ideal treatment that would target hirsutism triggers in your body.

Must Read: How To Deal With PCOS And Excessive Hair Growth?

What Are The Common Symptoms of Hirsutism?

In order to identify an ideal Hirsutism treatment for an individual, several factors are considered. Firstly, you should focus on the following symptoms. Needless to say, some of them are more common than others –

• Having visible and thick facial hair growth
• Hair growth in body parts like upper abdomen, back, chest, and shoulder
• Having a substantial hair growth right after puberty
• Developing a deeper voice
• Enlarged clitoris and a visible decrease in breast size
• A boost in the overall muscle mass
• Acne and oily skin
• Sudden baldness and thinning of the hairline

What Causes Of Hirsutism In Females?

After puberty, there is an increase in hair growth in our body. Though, certain factors can lead to elevated levels of androgen. This is one of the major cause of hirsutism. Here are some other factors that can be accounted for Hirsutism –

• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Hirsutism PCOS is one of the major triggers of hormonal imbalance in women. As a result, a patient would start producing more than the needed amount of androgen (majorly testosterone). If not treated properly, it can result in obesity, infertility, and menstrual problems.
• Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: This is a genetic condition that boosts the production of adrenal hormones in our body. It increases the level of androgen and cortisol hormones as well, resulting in Hirsutism
• Cushing’s Syndrome: This is a medical condition that happens when our body is exposed to an elevated level of cortisol for a long period. It causes hormonal imbalance and Hirsutism
• Other Reasons: Sometimes, a change in the environment, stress, diabetes, or certain medications can result in Hirsutism. It can also be triggered by the formation of an androgen-secreting tumour in the body.

Besides that, the family history of a patient, their weight, and even their surrounding environment can play a major role in Hirsutism causes and symptoms.

Must Read: How To Get Rid Of Body Hair For Women?

Hirsutism Investigation And Diagnosis

In order to diagnose Hirsutism, an extensive blood test is performed in a laboratory. It tests the level of testosterone, DHEA, and other adrenal gland hormones in the body. This is because the elevated level of androgen is directly linked to Hirsutism. In addition to that, your blood sugar and cholesterol levels might also be checked.

Besides that, if your doctor is concerned about Hirsutism caused by PCOS in your body, then they can perform an abdomen and pelvic scan. Sometimes, an ultrasound or CT scan is also performed to check for a lump or cyst around the adrenal gland.

What Is The Best Treatment For Hirsutism?

After examining your body and the levels of androgen, your doctor would come up with a personalized treatment. In most of the cases, the following techniques are implemented. Sometimes, a few of these techniques are implemented together to get a holistic results.

• Laser Hair Removal: Laser hair removal treatment is one of the most recommended and non-invasive approaches for removing unwanted hair from our body. In this, the skin is exposed to a certain wavelength of laser. The light passes through the skin and targets the hair follicles (by being absorbed by their coloured pigments). This leads to a permanent solution for hair growth caused by Hirsutism. Being a non-invasive solution, it has minimum side effects and provides a long-term solution.

• Medications To Regulate Androgen: Besides removing the unwanted hair from your body, your doctor can also prescribe some medicines in order to regulate the levels of androgen. Certain anti-androgen medicines are effective to reduce symptoms.

Short-Term Management Of Hirsutism

The following conventional methods can be moderrately helpful to remove excessive hair:

• Homebased Hair Removal: Waxing, shaving, tweezing, plucking, etc. are some common ways to get rid of unwanted body hair. Though, these techniques won’t give you a permanent solution and might damage your skin in the long run.
• Hair Removal Creams: If you are looking for an immediate solution, then you can also apply certain hair removal topical creams as well. It can help you get rid of a small patch of hair in less time. Though, it will only be a temporary solution as the hair follicles are not destroyed, which leads to a fast regrowth. Furthermore, some of these creams have harmful chemicals and their frequent use is not recommended.

Must Read: Depilatory Creams Vs Laser Hair Removal

Can Hirsutism Be Cured?

Yes, in a way laser hair removal results are long lasting and with proper maintenance and follow up sessions you can get almost permanent results.

What’s The Treatment Duration?

Usually between 6-10 sessions are recommended but it varies from person to person as hair volume, hair density, skin type and health condition also affects the number of sessions

What’s The Cost Of This Treatment?

The cost of laser hair removal varies from person to person as it depends on hair density, skin type, hair volume and other health conditions. Also for full body and selected body parts, the cost varies.

How Do You Prevent Hirsutism?

While it is not possible to prevent genetic condition like Hirsutism entirely, we can certainly follow some preventive measures. For instance, one should follow a healthy lifestyle and have a balanced diet. Exercise more often and keep a control on your blood sugar levels. Also, reduce the intake of fat in your diet and do more cardio to regulate your cholesterol levels. Most importantly, if you are showing Hirsutism symptoms, then consider visiting an experienced doctor as soon as possible. By detecting it at an early stage, you can get an ideal treatment by an expert.

Must Read: Electrolysis Hair Removal & Its Side Effects?

Now when you know how to cure Hirsutism in detail, you can certainly get rid of all the unwanted hair growth from your body. If you want to know more about personalized Hirsutism treatments which give real results with desired efficacy, then consider visiting an expert. This will let you get holistic treatments and an ideal medicine for Hirsutism to control hair growth in the future as well.